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Chiefs coach purring as he gives update on club’s new players
“When you have someone like Maart, you have a player who is capable of playing as a No 6, a No 8 and a No 10."
New Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siyethemba Sithebe has added a new dimension to the team (Photo: Kaizer Chiefs Media)
Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane has revealed that his new players, especially the midfielders, will bring a dimension they lacked last season.
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Amakhosi signed nine players including three central midfielders in Siyethemba Sithebe, George Matlou and Yosuf Maart.
Sithebe was signed from AmaZulu. Matlou was at Swallows FC last term while Maart, a former Orlando Pirates youth captain, was with Sekhukhune United.
“We brought in Zitha Khwinika, he is a player who grew up in the Kaizer Chiefs development. He was loaned out until he was released,” said Zwane on Ukhozi FM this week.
“But we continued to monitor him at the various clubs he has played at. We saw that in terms of understanding the Chiefs culture he is up there.
“We needed to beef up the defence and we decided that, ‘No, let us bring him back to the club so he can reunite with the others who are still here’.
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But it is the midfielders that seem to excite Zwane even more as he prepares the team for a season in which they are expected to win some silverware.
“We have someone like Yosuf Maart who can see the spaces and connect the midfield with the strikers up front.
“When you have someone like Maart, you have a player who is capable of playing as a No. 6, a No. 8 or a No.10. So, when you have such a player you are lucky as a coach.
“We also have Mahlatsi from Swallows. He is also one of the players who I think is more direct and can take on the defenders and put them under pressure.
“That could result in place kicks like freekicks or corner kicks if he does not manage to swipe through them. You need such players in the team in the modern game.
“We also have Sithebe who is also a utility midfielder like Maart. You can play him as No.8. No.10 or No.6 if you need some creativity in the middle.
“There is also George Matlou who is a similar player because these days the game requires you to have such players. This is because as the game progresses, you need to make changes without bringing in substitutes.
“You want to change positions as the game progresses because opponents can analyse you and stifle your movements,” explained Zwane.
Chiefs fans will get to see what Zwane has been cooking for the first time on August 6 when they meet Royal AM away in their opening DStv Premiership match.
